River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1887-12-29

III River falLh, nov. otns looti Dy l. ~ NhaphetLi
of Troy.l
When we take into consideration the
expense of raising a colt, or calf, il
becomes necessary to consider some Of
the advantages and disadvantages con
nected with the case.
1t is difficult matter to figure the
exact cost of any animal we raise or
the farm. The young maiden, who
lives in the timbered country east OF
here, feeds the little calf milk, and
teaches it to eat bran, shorts and vege'
tables, and at the close of two years
she has raised steer that will weigh
about 1000 pounds, that she can sell
at - per 100 lbs. with some profit.
Could the maiden do as well with a
colt! Perhaps not. The chances are
that if she had turned 2-year- colt
loose into the clearing, as she did the
steer, he would soon have been over
the hills and far away, or hung up on
a barbed wire fence to die.
| asked young man on the Prairie
Farm how much it cost to raise colt.
His answer was, Il can raise colt as
| cheap as you can raise a steer,
meaning that he could raise colt at
the same cost that it takes to raise a
steer. Suppose we admit that the
food consumed by each costs the same;
we have colt that weighs 1000 lbs.
and a steer that weighs the same at
two years of age, which was the case
at the Prairie Farm. We have first
cost of colt, S25; first cost of calf. 81.
1t will be seen that the colt has cost
S24 more than the steer; but it will be
seen also, that the colt is only half
matured at two years of age, while
the steer is ready for market; there
fore, in the same time that it takes to
raise one colt, we may raise two steers
and find a ready market for them.
But, while we are raising the second
steer the colt is making more expense,
he must be trained to go in shafts,
or double, and he must have good
harness. and blanket for winter, and
have shoes put on his feet, and the
boys can tell how much more, at a
cost of probably S25. We will now
suppose we have the colt ready for
market. We now have the cost of the
steers 80, and that of the colt $50-a
difference of S4S.
Let us take in some of the indirect
expenses that may occur while raising
the colt. For instance, farmer buys
a mare, too lame to work much, think
ing that she will raise good colt, but
she fails to raise colt; here is a
claim against raising the colt that sell
dom occurs in the case of the calf;
the colt is often deformed and weak
when quite young, and sometimes it
becomes necessary to haul them to
and from the pasture on a stone-boat
for long time before they can stand
on their limbs; sometimes the colt
inherits from its mother some bad
traits of character as well some COM
plant, such as epizootic, SPAWN, ring
bone, balk, four white feet and white
nose, ETC., all of which count against
the colt.
A large herd of steers may be fed
in a small enclosure without injury to
each other, which is not the case with
the cOlt,-they must be tied securely
when fed, and the number placed in a
small enclosure must be small, for
they are quite liable to injure each
other by kicking and driving each
other onto a barbed wire fence, per-
haps. The steer may be placed in
good pasture which is enclosed with a
harbed wire fence, with posts Is feet
from each other and two GliddOn
barbed wires, the first 2 > feet from
the ground and the second feet
above the first, well stretched and
fastened, and he is safe from injury
except in case of thunder storm,
when they are liable to seek shelter
near the fence, and as the wire is
sometimes Overcharged with cleo
tricity it IS liable to pass from the
wire to the animal standing near the
fence, when the result is death. The
colt must have more costly fence to
he as safe from injury as the steer is
in pasture enclosed with the above
described fence. To keep the colt
safe in a pasture there should be
tight board fence, posts feet apart
with two 2x4 ratings, with upright
boards eight feet long; hence we see
that the indirect cost of raising the
colt is very much more than that of
the steer.
We will now suppose that the farmer
wishes to sell the colt; he inquiries for
buyer. Some one comes along who
wishes to buy horse, and after look
ing the colt over he informs the farmer
that his colt don't suit him; he has
too many white feet, or a SPAWN. or
ring bone, or his eyes don't look right.
The farmer keeps the colt while
longer. and perhaps swaps him for
steers that he knows he can sell for
cash.
Not so with the young maiden who
lives in the timbered country of Pierce
county. Her father informs her that
he has sold the steer for a twenty dol
lar gold piece and some silver dollars,
and the little maiden says, Il am so
glad, father, that you have so much
money" and it. was this same little
maid that MIXED the COW that gave
the milk that was fed 10 the calf that
made the steer that her papa sold, and
the little maiden is very happy. She
informs her pa that she has received
some money, too; she had skinned
the milk that she MIXED from the COW
before she fed it to the calf that her
papa sold. and she sold the cream to
I MIR. Hubbell, who has butter factory
in River Falls and pays cash for the
cream every month. No wonder the
/ maiden was happy. for she had plenty